The transmission of alpha-numeric information from one person to another currently essentially is carried out by means of four different data entry techniques. These include sticks (chisel on stone, pencils, pens, markers, and the like), keyboards (typically used with typewriters, computers, and word processors), spatial devices (computer "mice", track balls, joy sticks, and the like used with computers); and voice (direct human communication and voice responsive computer systems). At the present state of technology, word processors and computers primarily rely upon data entry keyboards and the various spatial devices for inputting information into the computer, electronic typewriter, or word processor for subsequent display and/or printing. Of these techniques, keyboards are the most widely used today and many computers use a combination of keyboards and spatial devices (such as the movable "mice" which have become highly popular since 1980 for example on the Apple McIntosh Computer).
The now standard keyboard character assignment used in conjunction with typewriters and computers has what is known as the "QWERTY" key arrangement. This designation is named after the top row of letters in the four row keyboard. The "QWERTY" arrangement was invented and patented over 100 years ago and resulted from some unique characteristics of the all mechanical typewriters which existed at the time of the invention. One problem with early mechanical typewriters was that the entire force for providing the mechanical energy used to operate most of the typing function was provided by the force with which the key was struck. In addition to moving the typebar, this force also g released the carriage and moved the ribbon forward, with no other energy source.
Early keyboards utilized a simple alphabetic layout, but it was quickly discovered that the typebars of the early, crude, mechanical typewriters frequently jammed once a typist learned "QWERTY" keyboard was developed to place the most commonly used letters in English at the opposite sides of the type basket. The keyboard itself was laid out to provide direct mechanical connections to the various letters. Consequently, many of the commonly used letters were placed away from the "home" (center) row where the fingers normally rested. In addition, the "QWERTY" keyboard was designed with another slow-down technique by causing common letter pairs to be struck by the same finger on the same hand. This is the slowest motion for successive letters which could be developed. The "QWERTY" keyboard also introduced two function keys, the "CAP LOCK" and "SHIFT" keys, which allowed upper and lower case letters to be activated by the same keys and allowed the upper row of keys (the numbers and punctuations) to share the same keys. This was in contrast to typewriters less advanced than "QWERTY" which had eight rows of keys instead of the basic four rows for "QWERTY". The early widespread popularity of the "QWERTY" mechanical typewriter resulted in a nearly universal adoption of the "QWERTY" keyboard layout.
The "QWERTY" keyboard continued to be used, because of widespread mastery by secretaries and data input operators, even after the reasons for its original development no longer were applicable. Electric typewriters eased the finger burden by allowing the keystroke to mechanically access an electric motor which then provided the energy to complete the mechanical process of printing and operating the other mechanism of the typewriter. Electric typewriters in turn have been replaced by electronic typewriters, word processors, and computers which completely eliminate the necessity for the inefficient "QWERTY" keyboard layout. This layout, however, has continued to dominate the market today, long after its need has disappeared. Computer keyboard buffers, which separate too quickly struck keys eliminate all of the problems which the "QWERTY" keyboard originally was designed to overcome.
Efforts have been made to modify the layout of multi-key keyboards to improve efficiency. One such keyboard is disclosed in the keyboard to Dvorak U.S. Pat. No. 2,040,248. This keyboard was designed after an analysis of errors made with the standard "QWERTY" layout. The Dvorak layout concentrates the vowels and most frequently used letters on the "home" row so that there is much less moving around from row to row of the fingers of the typist. It has been found that this row to row movement in "QWERTY" keyboards and other multiple row keyboards results in most of the errors made by typists. In addition, the Dvorak keyboard change the balance between the left and right hand. In a "QWERTY" keyboard the usage is 57% for the left hand, whereas in Dvorak the change is to 56% for the right hand, better suited for right handed typists. Although the Dvorak keyboard has been known for over 50 years, it has not made many in-roads into the standard "QWERTY" keyboard world. Even with their greater efficiency, Dvorak keyboards still are subject to the requirement of movement of the fingers over four rows of keys (when a number row is provided). This is inefficient and inherently presents a capacity for introduction of errors when the fingers move with little or no tactile feedback from one row to another away from the "home" row.
Other efforts at providing a more natural arrangement of keys to fit the natural shape of the hand and to utilize the significantly greater dexterity of the thumbs is typified in the keyboard arrangement of Malt U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,659. With ordinary keyboards such as the "QWERTY" and Dvorak keyboards, the eight fingers are used to produce all of the key strokes and the thumbs (primarily the right thumb) are used solely to operate the space bar. The thumb of the human hand, however, has more capability of finger movement than the index finger and is the most important and most-used digit of the hand. Malt recognized this and assigned each thumb six different keys or functions. In addition, the keys are laid out in a curved arrangement corresponding to the different lengths of the fingers on each hand. The keys for each hand also are separated into two groups with the thumb positions adjacent one another. Even though it appears to be a more efficient layout than a standard "QWERTY" keyboard, the Malt keyboard arrangement has not been widely adopted. Once again, the fingers (and the thumbs) must move over multiple rows of keys; so that row to row and key to key movement errors still may be introduced with the Malt keyboard.
Other types of non-standard keyboard character assignments have been developed over the years in addition to the Dvorak and Malt keyboards discussed above; but in view of the minimal advantages obtained from such assignments over the standard "QWERTY" arrangement, no overriding reason has been presented to the industry to modify the well-established and well-known "QWERTY" keyboard arrangement.
An entirely different approach has been undertaken by others in the past to provide multiple switches or key assignments at each of several different fixed finger locations. Such an approach is disclosed in the Hesh U.S. Pat. No. 2,536,228. This patent is for an electrically operated typewriter in which the keyboard location of the typewriter has been modified to provide two groups of five semi-circular keys. These keys underlie the thumb and forefingers, respectively, of the left and right hands. Each key may be operated by pivoting it forward, backward, left, right or by pushing it straight down to obtain five different outputs from each key position. These outputs then are used to operate the otherwise conventional mechanism of the electric typewriter. Similar arrangements are shown in the Samuel U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,724 (for a typewriter) and Wuenn U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,315 (for a calculator). The Samuel typewriter employs only eight pivoted keys and utilizes the conventional space bar, return, and shift keys normally associated with standard typewriter keyboards.
The systems of Hesh, Samuel, and Wuenn, since they are placed on flat keyboard-like surfaces, do not provide support for the hands and fingers of the operator even though the layout of Hesh does place the keys in a semi-circular arrangement conforming to the relaxed position of the fingertips and thumb of each hand. It is very difficult for a keyboard operator to maintain the hands and fingers in a closely confined space unless a supporting and stabilizing structure is provided.
A variation of the multiple switch location for each finger is disclosed in the keyboard of the Runge U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,557. The system of this patent provides clusters of keys operated by each finger. The keys of the cluster are closely associated around the finger in its "home" row position. One key rests above the operator's finger and is operated by raising the finger. There also are keys behind and in front of the conventional "home" row key, so that each finger is capable of operating four different keys or switches from the "home" row position. The Runge device "locks" the fingers into narrowly defined locations without providing physical support or tactile feedback for the hands and arms to maintain the precise locations required. As a practical matter, this makes maintaining the fingers and hands in the precise location extremely difficult and fatiguing for more than brief time periods. Runge does not take advantage of the capabilities of the thumb, however, which simply is left to operate a conventional space bar. The Runge device is a g relatively complex set of mechanical lever arms subject to misadjustment and wear.
An even more innovative approach is disclosed in the Seivel U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,878. The "communication device" of this patent is an enclosure into which the hand is inserted. The four fingers and thumb are placed into switch positions where each finger and the thumb are capable of operating two different sets of switches (one set when the fingers are drawn in toward the palm of the hand and another set when the fingers are moved outwardly from the palm of the hand). Different alpha-numeric characters and other function characters then are provided by encoding different combinations of the operation of these various switches. A complex set of multiple finger operations is necessary to produce the different characters and commands from the device. One advantage of the Seivel device, however, is that the hand is not constrained to rest on a standard keyboard attached to a machine such as a typewriter, since the device of Seivel may be moved around by the operator during use.
A conceptual illustration of a semi-captive keyboard employing multiple key operations from each of the fixed finger positions is shown in the "Xerox Disclosure Journal". Volumes 1, No. 2, February 1986 (Page 85). No details of the keyboard are shown, but it essentially comprises a generally flat plate on which the hand is placed palm down, with the fingers and thumb extended. The fingers and thumb appear to enter into openings in a vertical, raised portion adjacent the flat palm receiving portion. In these openings, clusters of keys are placed around the fingers for operation by each finger. As illustrated, however, this device has a major operational problem in that the finger enclosures are arranged with the fingers extending horizontally and parallel to the rest of the hand. As a result, actuation of the key surface in front of each fingertip requires forward movement of the entire hand, displacing the hand from a "home" position and making the selective actuation of only one such finger key extremely difficult, if not impossible. This device also does not reveal how the thumb could successfully actuate the keys. This disclosure lacks sufficient details for implementation into an operative system.
Another conceptual illustration of a difficult-to-master keyboard is given in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Volume 52, No. 9, Pages 4915 and 4916 (February 1983 to Uchiyama). This keyboard is in separate left and right sections with a single key at each finger location. It is a chording keyboard where multiple key (multiple finger) simultaneous combinations are made, then followed by an "execute" operation to provide the desired outputs. Chording keyboards require substantial memorization of the combinations to master, and do not provide direct correlation of and indentification of the specific finger movements which cause any errors.
Another patent directed to a formed data entry device for generation of multiple symbols through chording operation is disclosed in the United Kingdom Patent to Winkler No. 2,076,743. The upper surface of this data input device is shaped so that the hand of the operator may rest on it in a relaxed position. The base of the device supports the palm of the hand. The Winkler device is made with grooves in it to accomodate the fingers and essentially hold them immobile. Pressure sensitive switches are employed and they are located under the knuckles to be actuated by bony parts of the fingers. The device of Winkler has a total of approximately eight keys. These include one key underlying each knuckle of each of the four fingers, two keys for the thumb, and keys for left and right hand sides of the palm of the hand. Thus, the device is not made for resting the palm of the hand with any pressure since pressure actuates the keys located under the palm. Data entry is accomplished by the actuation of multiple keys in various combinations to generate permutations of keys which are interpreted as equivalent to a particular data entry key of a conventional keyboard. Different combinations of two or more keys are required for the various letter, number, punctuation and function symbols required for computer operation. This requires a very complex learning process for an operator, since the chording representations must be memorized and the key operations consequently are significantly different from those required for a standard typewriter keyboard.
The Yaeger U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,443 and the French Patent WO No. 82/01345 to Kroczynski are directed to an entirely different type of data input device. In Yaeger and Kroczynski elongated bars are worn on the hands of an operator. In Yaeger, ends of the fingers of the operator are inserted into circular cups which captivate or hold the fingers within the cups. Each cup in turn is mounted on a spring to permit rocking motion in any one of two or three directions and, in some cases, downard or forward movement as well. Thus, each cup constitutes a single key. As constructed, the device of Yaeger always must return the cup to its neutral or home position before it can be used to actuate a switch in any other direction. The fingertips or fingers of the operator of the Yaeger device are not freely received within fingertip wells but instead are held captive in continuous contact with a single key or switch.
The Yaeger device essentially is "worn" by the operator since it attaches to the hands like a glove with the thumb being completely incased in a rigid tube. In Kroczynski, the fingers fit within an enclosure, so different parts of each finger operate different switches.
It is desirable to provide an improved data input device in the form of a finger actuated keyboard which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and which is more natural to use than standard or modified keyboards of the prior art, which is particularly suitable for utilization as a computer input keyboard, and which is easy to use and quick to learn.